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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pop — music
  5. row — a line
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pop — soda
  8. cold — not warm
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mate — to breed
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. pop — to visit
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. mate — a partner
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. row — to paddle
  21. current — happening now
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com